Laundry Room Encounter
by GWA
Summary: Written by Blackbird as part of the July Guess the Author Contest.


Welcome to the first Guess the Author contest. I am you host, Jason 'Zaratan' Jones, and I hope you enjoy this little treat we have for you. A number of writers have submitted stories to be placed under the GWA name, and it your job to guess who wrote each story. There are no names attached to the stories right now (though there will be afterwards) and no author's notes. It is up to you, the readers, to guess who wrote each story based on the style and so forth. Simply email me at zaratan4 at hotmail dot com with your responses. The one who was closest or most accurate will select the topic for the next round.

For this one, the theme was simply… Doing Laundry. Our contestants could do with that as they will, and boy have they ever.

And now, on to our contestants;

**Zaratan** – Host supreme, celebrating his first year here, and hoping to become as productive again as in the past, with an on-going series and many other stories under his belt.

**Blackbird** – A newer player to the Kim Possible scene, with a deft touch with both one-shots and a popular Kigo series in the works.

**Spectre666** – An amazing talent with a broad range, moving from angst to comedy to smuff. Made spankings an interesting thing here.

**Yuri Sisteble** – His interesting glimpse into the future of KP and crew continue to dazzle one and all.

**Jim Vincible** – With several stories under his belt, this talented writer has started a major epic in the making. Considering he has only just started here recently, he is quickly making his way up to the big leagues here.

**Whitem** – Comedy, action, drama, smuff, he does it all with style and flair.

**Yvj **– A master at the art of the one-shot, and with several major stories, this artist is looking to claim a spot at the top.

And there are your writers for this one folks. Check out all 7 stories, and make your picks for Guess the Author before July 31st. Oh, and none of these characters belong to us, we're just using them. Have fun!

Hey folks, thanks all for reading and enjoying. Now, folks, for the big moment… the following story was written by… **Blackbird**! Be sure to check out everything else by this author, and stay tuned for the next Guess the Author!

**Laundry Room Encounter - By Blackbird**

Kim shifted the laundry basket in her arms again as the doors to the elevator opened with their customary "ding". She hated having to wait this long to do her laundry, but between classes, late night studies, pep rallies, and of course saving the world, she seemed to have very little time to tend to her clothing cleaning needs. Not to mention the fact that the dorm's laundry room was usually crowded with people who used four or five machines at a time.

Thankfully, this was the weekend before Spring Break so most of the other students decided to go home for supplies and probably to beg their parents for money. This, combined with the very late hour, would allow her to have the room almost completely to herself. Although she would enjoy that convenience, she definitely would have preferred to clean her clothes at a more civilized hour, but a last minute mission kept that from happening.

_Thank God tomorrow's Saturday_, she thought.

As she trudged into the overly white laundry room she caught site of a brown haired girl standing in front of one of the many washers and beginning to pull out some kind of red outfit from the machine. Though Kim didn't think she made a sound, she obviously must have done something to startle the other student, because the girl's head snapped towards her with a look of complete shock on her face.

"Holy crap!" the girl shouted as she shoved the clothing back into the machine.

"AAAAAHHH!" Kim screamed back, herself startled by the intense reaction.

The two girls took deep breaths to calm their now shattered nerves then looked back at each other once they recovered.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," Kim apologized.

"No, no it's my fault," the brown haired girl replied, waving it off. "I'm just not use to people being able to sneak up on me."

"Well I have had some practice at it," Kim mused as she set her basket down on the machine next to the girl's.

As she flipped open the washer and began to sort through her clothes, she couldn't help by notice the other girl glancing at her every now and then. While this was nothing new given her "celebrity status", Kim couldn't help by notice that the girl was doing it while shuffling something around inside the washer. She tried not to stare, but it did pique her curiosity a bit.

"Something wrong?" she asked.

"What! Oh...uh...nothing. Nothing at all," the girl explained, acting flustered. "Just...uh...making sure there aren't any soap stains on my clothes. You know how these things can be."

"That's true," Kim remarked. "I remembered when one of these things overflowed and flooded half the floor."

"Yeah that was annoying."

"Oh so you _do_ live in the building."

"Of course I do," the brunette said indignantly. "What did you think?"

"Well, honestly, I've heard of people from other dorms sneaking in to use the laundry room. And I don't remember seeing you around here so I was just curious."

"Well I live on the ninth floor and have kind of a...busy social life."

"I guess the explains it," Kim said, not looking entirely convinced. "You just were looking at me kinda weird is all."

"Oh that. It's just...you look kind of familiar. I could swear I've seen you somewhere before," the girl replied, giving her a thoughtful look. She studied the red head for a moment before she snapped her fingers in recognition. "That's it! You're Kim Possible!"

Kim chuckled nervously. "Uh yeah, that's me."

"Sorry I know you probably get that a lot, but I'm just amazed by the stuff you can do. It's a real honor to meet you," she said, holding out her hand.

"Thanks, uh..." Kim replied, taking the hand and shaking it.

"May. May Parker."

"May. Pleasure. So...doing your laundry late at night too, huh?"

"Yeah it's kind of a pain, but like I said, busy social life, so..."

"Tell me about it," Kim sighed as she flipped open another washer. "I mean, I knew college would harder than high school, but some of the things they expect from us are ridiculous. Not to mention the crime fighting which seems to take up just about _any_ amount of free time I have and well..." she motioned to the overflowing pink basket.

"Yeah no kidding," May mumbled.

"What was that?"

"Oh! Uh...you know, the whole college thing. It's really tough," the brunette said hastily before returning back to her wet clothes.

"Uh huh."

Kim gave her a questioning look before she went back to sorting her clothes into the second washer, casting a few more glances at May as she did so. There was something about this girl that made her uneasy, but she just wasn't sure what exactly. She looked normal enough, in fact she looked fairly average. Like most college girls doing their laundry she was dress in a red tank top and matching pajama bottoms and slippers, not unlike what Kim was wearing at the moment. So what was it about this girl that seemed to set off her mental alarms? Maybe it was the fact that she was acting very nervous and protective of something in that washer. Maybe she was trying to hide something horrible.

_Or maybe you're just being overly paranoid and it's just something embarrassing,_ the rational part of Kim's mind spoke up. _Now just leave it be and get back to your own clothes._

Deciding to follow her own advice, Kim finished sorting through her clothes and placing them in the proper machine. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a handful of quarters then slipped a dollars worth into each. When she turned back to her basket for the thing she would need, she let out a horrified gasp.

"I don't believe it!" she screamed.

"It's not what it looks like!" May blurted out.

The second outburst caught Kim off guard and she turned her around to stare at May once again, anxiety replaced by utter confusion.

"What's not what it looks like?" she asked.

"What?" May asked back, feigning innocence. "I...uh...meant, what can't you believe?"

The redhead quirked an eyebrow, looking unconvinced but deciding on not pressing the issue.

"I...forgot to bring my laundry detergent," she admitted sheepishly. "Do you think I can borrow yours?"

"Oh sure," May replied, handing over the bright orange bottle.

Kim nodded in thanks as she took the bottle and poured out two cups for each of her loads. Once that was done, she started up the machines and handed the detergent back to May. She then reached into her basket again and pulled out a small book before heading over to the lime green plastic table in the corner of the room. She pulled it open to the place she had marked and started to read but stopped after a minute or too when she had the feeling someone was watching her. Not surprisingly, that person was May.

"So you're staying down here then?" she asked, sounding somewhat disappointed.

"Yeah," Kim answered. "Even if they aren't that many people here I don't want to take a chance. Since I'm kind of famous a lot of people try to take my things from here. Like a couple of weeks ago I found some creep trying to steal a pair of my panties to sell on e-Bay."

"Ew," May replied, scrunching her face.

"Exactly. So..." she held up her book then continued to read.

As she eyes scanned over the words on the pages, Kim couldn't help by look towards the other occupant of the room. It seemed like May resigned to the fact that she wasn't going to be alone and finally started to pull things out of the washer. She seemed to be very careful about shuffling them about so that most of the clothes would cover...something. Again, the former teen hero found her curiosity aroused and tried to sneak a peak whatever was so important. Unfortunately, despite her rather obvious behavior, it seemed like May was very good at hiding the object. She quickly strolled over to the wall of dryers, giving Kim a friendly smile as she did so.

_Knock it off May, you're acting like a total spaz,_ the brunette admonished herself. _Just act like you're a normal college student doing your laundry and everything will go okay. Course this wouldn't be a problem if you'd just gone home, but nooo! You were two lazy to swing across town and so came up with the brilliant idea that "Nobody would be down here this late at night". So, of course that means someone has to be down here. And not just anyone who would write off your behavior as just "weird old Mayday Parker" but Kim freakin' Possible! And she's gonna figure it out if you don't settle down._

She took a deep breath to steady herself, then pulled open the dyer closest to her. After throwing her clothes in and arranging them just so, she cleared out the lent trap then slipped money into the machine, slammed the door shut and set the right cycle. She then spun around so she could lean against the machine with her arms crossed under her breasts and keep a close eye on Kim.

The muffled splashing of water and steady tumbling of the dryer filled the room as the two girls stood or sat in silence. While they each appeared to involved in their own activities, they were really doing the exact same thing: watching the other one closely. Despite having forgot her detergent, Kim did remember to bring along the Kimmunicator and now had it sitting discreetly on the table so she could keep a close eye on May through the screen's reflection. May, on the other hand, altered between looking at Kim and the lime green folding table in front of the dyers. She could also turn around on occasion to check her clothes, but seemed more interested in the actual content rather than the time left.

_Alright, this girl is definitely hiding something. And it's in that dryer,_ Kim thought, her eyes narrowing. _I just have to find away to get into it._

Any plan she may have been forming was lost when she noticed the washers holding her clothes had stopped. She walked over to them and in the process of taking them out and getting them ready to dry, a plan did spring to mind. She fought back a smile and kept her body language still so as not to tip her hand too soon. She gathered up her clothes in her hands and made her way over to the dryers, keeping May in her line of sight as she did so. After a bit of fumbling about, she pulled open the dyer door and tossed the heap of damp clothes inside, thankful they all seemed to fit into just one. Her fingers curled around the handle to the lent trap and in one quick motion she slid it and "accidently" tossed it aside. It landed with a loud "bang" in the corner and awoke the half asleep May with a start. She looked at the discarded sheet before looking over at Kim.

"Oops, sorry," she replied, looking appropriately embarrassed. "Guess I was a little more tired than I thought, think you could get it for me?"

"Yeah, sure, no problem," May replied, prying herself off the machine.

Kim watched closely and waited until the other girl was bent over to make her move. She sidestepped to the next dryer and grabbed the handle, unaware that a familiar tingle in the back of May's head already warned her off Kim's actions.

"No!" she shouted before twisting around and launching herself as the red head.

Years of instinct quickly kicked in and Kim rolled with the tackle, grabbing May's shoulders and ducking her legs between them as they hit the hard, tile floor. She used the force of the attack to kick the brunette off her and send her flying towards the cement wall. She realized a little too late what she had done and twisted herself around to see how badly May was hurt. What she found surprised her more than anything in recent months. Instead of May's unconscious form slumped on the floor she was sticking to the wall by her hands and feet. Several long seconds passed as the two girls simply stared at each other blankly.

"Well crap," May finally muttered.

"Oh my God!" Kim shouted, springing to her feet. "You're Spider-Girl!"

"Could you say that a little louder, I don't quite think everyone one campus heard you."

Kim clapped her hands over her mouth in embarrassment. She took a moment to compose herself while May hopped down from the wall, landing perfectly in the slippers that had fallen off her feet. When she was sure she could talk more civilly, Kim lowered her hands and began to speak again.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scream like that it's just...well it was kind of surprising," she explained.

"Yeah. And in my defense, not many people can throw me like that so when you did I just kinda went on autopilot," May said.

"Well you did jump me first."

"Only because you tried to open my dryer."

"Only because I thought you were hiding something bad in there. But, since you turned out to be Spider-Girl then I guess that's..." Kim let the sentence go unfinished as she gestured to the dryer.

"My costume, yeah."

"Wow. I didn't know guys washed those things like this."

May gave her an odd look. "What do you mean?"

"I just thought that maybe you had some special, super heros only laundry mat or something."

"Sadly enough, no we just have our own washers and dryers. Or in this case the school's washers and dryers."

"Which would explain why you're down here so late," Kim surmised.

"Yeah. I was too tired to go home and it definitely needed a wash. I'm sure you can understand how sweaty freak fighting can make you."

"Oh yeah."

"Well try to imagine what it's like if you were covered in head to toe spandex that hadn't been washed in _way_ too many weeks."

Kim seemed to think about that for a second before her face scrunched up in disgust.

"Ew."

"Exactly," May replied, tipping a finger towards her.

"Well I'm sorry for all this," Kim apologized. "It's just after years of fighting villains I get a little paranoid when people act kinda weird around me."

"Eh, don't worry about it, I know exactly what you mean. Actually I figured it'd be worse for you."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean the fact that you do all your world saving adventures as yourself, no secret identity."

"Ah," Kim nodded. "Well I've just never been into that stuff. I mean, don't get me wrong I have total respect for what you and the other super heros do, I just can't see myself doing things like that."

"Which is why I meant it when I said it was an honor to meet you. At the risk of inflating your ego I really admire the fact that you can just go out there and be yourself. It's just...amazing."

"Oh it's no big."

"Yes it is," May insisted. "I mean, I'm terrified of some creep learning my identity and trying to harm my family just to get to me. That's why it's kinda of...inspiring to see you out there like that."

"Uh...thanks," Kim said, not sure how to take the statement. "Honestly, most of the villains I fight seem to have some unwritten code not to go after my family. Plus, I know they can all hold their own if they have two, especially my little brothers. Actually, there are times when they're _worse_ than the super villains."

May chuckled a bit. "Yeah my little brother's kinda like that."

They then lapsed into a silent moment that Kim used to pick up the lent sheet, clean it off and start up her own dryer while May checked the time left on hers. Afterwards, they both sat down at the table and as Kim went back to reading her book, May simply propped her head on her right hand and stared off into space. The redhead glanced at her a few times before she placed the bookmark in her current page before closing the book and laying it softly on the table.

"So what brings you here?" she asked.

"Wha?" May asked back, snapping out of her daze. "Oh, uh, well really I guess I'm just following in my dad's footsteps some more. He went here so I decided to as well."

"So then Spider-Man is your father?"

"Yep. But I'm not gonna give out more than that."

"Don't worry, I'm not going to pry. Oh and can rest assured that your secret is safe with me."

"Thanks," the brunette sighed. "So what about you? You're a long way from home."

"Well thanks to all my world saving adventures I got a ton of offers and scholarships from a lot of different colleges. I think it was mostly just PR stuff, you know, being able to brag that Kim Possible goes to their school. I decided to go here cause I really wanted to study criminology and they seemed to have the best department."

"They should with all the crime that goes on in this city," May muttered. "Still at least you know what you want to do."

"You haven't declared a major yet?"

"Nope. I'm still not sure exactly how far I want to follow in my dad's footsteps. I was thinking on photography, but..."

"You want to do something that makes stand out from your father," Kim concluded.

May blinked in amazement. "Yes. How did you...?"

"It's a gift. If you want I could help you pick something."

"No offense, but why would you want to do that?"

She shrugged. "I'm Kim Possible. Helping people is what I do."

"Even the super powered people?"

"Especially them."

May smiled at that and the two shared a giggled before they began to talk about different majors being offered. It wasn't long before the talks turned deeper, however, and the two young heros found themselves talking about their families, friends, boys, and eventually some of the more insane villains they had fought. Through it all, they each found it rather refreshing to be able to sit down and just talk to someone who had gone through many of the same things they themselves had. By the time their clothes had finished drying and they parted ways, a new friendship had been formed and Kim couldn't help but think of what the tour guides had said her first day here: you'll never know who you're going to meet in college. Or in this case a college laundry room.


End file.
